


Wasting Time

by ellebeedarling



Series: After All This Time [6]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Birthday Fluff, M/M, mostly just fluff tho, sweet and fluffy, tiny bit of smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-01
Updated: 2017-04-01
Packaged: 2018-10-13 15:17:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10516353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ellebeedarling/pseuds/ellebeedarling
Summary: It's Shepard's birthday, and Kaidan goes out of his way to make it extra special for him.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [FallingOverSideways](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FallingOverSideways/gifts).



> Just a fluffy little piece I wrote for FallingOverSideways for her birthday! Enjoy!
> 
> The title comes from a song called Waste My Time by Saint Asonia, which is a perfectly lovely song, and I recommend everyone going to look it up! :)

Wet heat enveloping his dick gently roused Shepard from a deep sleep, but he didn't open his eyes. Instead, he let the dream continue, his fingers seeking out the thick tangle of Kaidan's silky, morning hair. Tension coiled low in his gut as his lover worked him over, and he came with a violent shudder and a quiet groan. When he finally had the strength to crack one eye open, he saw Kaidan between his legs grinning at him like the cat who'd just swallowed the canary. That made him chuckle, and he returned the smile.

 

“What'd I do to deserve that?” he asked, voice groggy with the combined residue of sleep and orgasm.

 

“You're kidding, right?” Kaidan laughed. “John, today's your birthday!”

 

Shepard's eyes widened in surprise. “Is it?”

 

Kaidan shook his head, grin deepening into an all out smile. “Only you would forget your own, damn birthday.” He crawled up the bed and nestled himself into John's arms.

 

“It's just another day, Kaid,” John said. “Never did much celebrating as a kid. That makes it easy to forget.”

 

Sometimes Kaidan forgot that John's childhood was anything but typical. He always hated himself for bringing up any reminders of the fact. Shepard had gotten good at hiding the pain of his past, but the memories were there – the scars were there – and sometimes, even in their most intimate moments, Kaidan would see the haunted look in his lover's eyes, and know that he was lost to the memories, drowning in hurt and sorrow. That's not where he wanted this day to go, however, so he kissed the heart-shaped scar on John's chest and rolled himself on top of the man, determined to make him forget a little while longer.

 

**

 

Shepard awoke and found himself sprawled face-down on top of the covers in a puddle of drool, sticky and a little sore from his earlier activities with Kaidan. Sore in all the best ways, anyhow. When he reached for his lover, however, he discovered that the other half of the bed was empty and cold. He sighed and frowned, swiping away the drool and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as he sat up and swung his feet to the floor. There was a momentary feeling of loss as the thought occurred to him that it had all been nothing more than a dream. The smell of bacon wafting from the apartment's lower level dispelled that notion, however, and he let himself fall back onto the bed spread eagle.

 

During his separation from Kaidan, he'd dreamt of them being together nearly every time he'd slept. Now that they were together again, he still had a hard time believing that it was real, that they were engaged to be married, that Kaidan still loved him. John had never stopped. As far as he was concerned, Kaidan was it for him. He assumed the Major felt the same way. He'd agreed to marry him, after all. John grinned.

 

Now all he had to do was make sure they both survived this damned war.

 

Before his thoughts had a chance to drag him back into melancholy once more, Kaidan arrived with a tray of breakfast, plunking it down on the floor, and climbing onto the bed to straddle him. “Hey!”

 

“Hey,” John said, his grin from moments ago reasserting itself.

 

Kaidan laid a sloppy kiss on his lips before climbing back down and retrieving the breakfast. They ate reclining on the bed, feeding each other bites of toast and bacon between feather-light kisses, and pretending like the world outside their door didn't exist. Food gone, Shepard released a satisfied sigh, sinking back into the mattress while Kaidan deposited the dishes on the floor again. He blinked, and when his eyes opened, he found his lover staring down at him, amber eyes bright. “Let's go get a shower.”

 

“Let's not,” Shepard said, grabbing Kaidan around the waist and dragging him back onto the bed when he tried to stand. The Major suddenly found himself lying flat on his back, the Commander's full weight on top of him, hands pinned to the bed above his head. John trailed kisses along his jaw, and soon any thoughts or plans Kaidan had were drifting out the proverbial window on the waves of their shared bliss.

 

**

 

Shepard groaned as he sank into the gurgling water of the hot tub. Who had a hot tub in their bathroom? Anderson, evidently. And now Shepard, himself. It was surreal. Growing up, hot meals and clean clothes were luxuries. As an adult, the only luxuries he'd ever really indulged in were his love of printed books and his leather jacket. He was perfectly content with military issue clothing and billets. Luxury on the scale of this apartment was an almost foreign concept to him. Logically, he knew that people lived like this, but knowing it and experiencing it were two different things. Kaidan followed him in, and they were silent for awhile as the hot water soothed their aching muscles. Luxury or no, he was damn glad Anderson had sprung for it.

 

Kaidan reached for his hand, lacing their fingers, and they sat in contentment, talking about nothing. Shepard told him about meeting Francis Kitt on the strip, and Kaidan told him in no uncertain terms that he would not be attending Kitt's latest iteration of Shakespeare – much to John's disappointment. Kaidan mentioned the combat simulator, and John asked for just one day where he didn't even have to look at a gun or put on his armor, much less fight, even if it were just holographic enemies. They'd found a series of spy novels that they enjoyed, each of them reading on his own because they never had time to sit and read together. They always managed to keep up with each other, though, and when they had a moment, they talked about it. It was just one of many common interests they shared. At times it almost felt to John as though they shared two halves of one brain. They laid out their theories about whodunit and why, both of them coming to the same conclusion, but for different reasons.

 

They talked until their fingers and toes were puckered from the water before reluctantly hauling themselves out. Once dried and dressed, they curled up on the couch for a movie marathon. Shepard wanted Blasto; Kaidan flatly refused. They settled on remakes of some of their favorite kung fu movies, but soon became distracted by wandering hands and lips. They completely missed the last half of the first vid and gave up on movie watching altogether in favor of more passionate pursuits.

 

It was well past lunch before they finally ventured out of the apartment in search of food. Once upon a time, Apollo's Cafe had featured a vast menu with the resources to make it a reality. Nowadays, food was in short supply due to the war, so they settled for vat grown burgers and soy milkshakes while Kaidan lamented the lack of Canadian lager that was already a rare and precious thing. Neither of them let the thought continue to a time after the war when even vat grown meat and soy milk would likely be difficult to obtain. Shepard made a mental note to stock more rations and medical supplies aboard the Normandy, cursing the fact that he couldn't even go one day without slipping into Commander mode.

 

Whispers and tittering laughter alerted them to the presence of approaching _fans_ , so Kaidan waved his omni-tool at the bill and grabbed Shepard's hand, towing the man along behind him before he could get roped into performing some trivial task for someone who didn't realize that Commander Shepard wasn't their personal errand boy, and actually deserved to have a fucking day off now and again. John was laughing at him as they raced through the streets, then grinning when Kaidan pulled him around a corner in front of a theater playing the latest Blasto movie. Seeing his chance, John forced him inside, and cackled as Kaidan cursed under his breath. The Major bought them tickets despite his own distaste for the series, because seeing the boyish glee on the Commander's face was worth spending the next hour and a half watching the mindless assault of cheesy effects and poorly written dialogue.

 

Mercifully, Blasto ended, and the couple strolled, hand in hand, through the Presidium. Kaidan listened and rolled his eyes fondly as John recounted his favorite parts of the vid. For someone as intelligent as Shepard was, who read and re-read every scrap of ancient literature and history he could get his hands on, he certainly had simple tastes when it came to entertainment. He hadn't had much of a childhood, though, so Kaidan was happy to let him have these few silly, little obsessions of his. There were worse things he could be interested in than model ships and Blasto movies, after all.

 

They wandered past a turian history museum, and Kaidan turned them toward it after noticing the stutter in Shepard's step and the way his blue eyes perked up. John could easily get lost for hours and hours in a good museum or a library. Kaidan's face clouded over as he thought about the Shepard Memorial wing of the New York Public Library. He hoped John lived long enough to see it – for it to become the Honorary wing instead of Memorial – and that it would still be standing when the war was over. John brushed his thumb over his lover's cheek as if he could read his thoughts, and gave him a sad smile. Then they both shook off the somber mood and spent the next several hours perusing the museum. In the gift shop, Shepard bought a book on the Unification War for himself, and the collector's edition of Fleet and Flotilla for Tali, whose birthday was coming up in a few weeks.

 

Back home, Kaidan surprised John with steaks for dinner. Real steaks, not vat grown, and Kaidan sheepishly admitted to misusing his Spectre status to “appropriate” the meat just for Shepard's birthday. John was touched that the man had gone to so much trouble to make the day special, but that didn't stop him from teasing him about burning the garlic or asking hopefully for hot sauce. They spent most of the meal making ridiculous jokes about beer, bacon, and beef being the “foods of Kaidan's people.” Steak and bacon had always been his favorite foods, and he remembered vividly the first time he'd shared a beer with his dad. Shepard confessed that he'd always loved New York style pizza, thin and crisp and dripping with cheese and grease. Kaidan made a mental note to figure out how to get some for him soon.

 

“Today was great,” Shepard said, pushing his empty plate away and letting out a groan while patting his overstuffed belly. “Thank you!”

 

Kaidan pressed a soft kiss to his lips. “It isn't over yet.”

 

“Not sure how you could top this.”

 

The Major simply smiled and left the room, coming back with a package wrapped neatly in red paper with a silver bow. “You didn't have to get me a gift, Kaid,” John said quietly, but the light in his eyes told a different story. Kaidan grinned at him, urging him to open it. With a smile of his own, Shepard ripped the paper off, gasping in delight at the printed copy of The Odyssey that he now held in his hands. It was hardback, bound with leather and inlaid with gold filigree, and Shepard lovingly ran his fingers over it. “Wow,” he said. “How on earth did you get this?”

 

“Ah... that'll be my little secret, Commander.”

 

John huffed a laugh and flipped through the pages gently, discovering the stunning artwork peppered throughout. It was beyond doubt the best birthday gift he'd ever received. Honestly he'd only ever been given a couple of gifts in his life. The first time had been from the Fields', and his friend Terrance had always gotten him something small. No one had ever put so much thought into something for him, though, and it was almost enough to bring a tear to his eye. “Thank you, Kaid,” he whispered hoarsely. “This is... No one's ever done anything like this for me before.” The smile he offered Kaidan was small but genuine, and he leaned forward for a kiss, brushing his fingers against his lover's jaw.

 

“You're welcome,” Kaidan told him. “I'm glad you like it.” He pressed his lips to John's once more then headed back into the kitchen, rummaging around in the fridge for a moment before pulling out a small cake. It was strawberry flavored – John's favorite – with whipped cream and chocolate ganache, and topped with chocolate dipped strawberries. Shepard's eyes widened in surprise. Kaidan had thought of everything. There was even a silver candle sticking up out of the middle of it, which he lit before carrying it to the table. “Make a wish,” Kaidan told him as he set the cake in front of him.

 

John was thoughtful for a few moments, recalling all the things he'd hoped and dreamed for over the years. Surviving this war not withstanding, everything he'd ever wanted was sitting right in front of him in the package of a beautiful man with a dazzling smile and golden eyes that made him melt every time he saw them. He grinned and blew out the candle before murmuring, “My wish already came true.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!! Hope you enjoyed it! 
> 
> Much love,  
> Elle


End file.
